In this activity, children use common craft materials and ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive beads to construct a person (or dog or imaginary creature). They use sunscreen, foil, paper, and more to test materials that might protect UV Kid from being exposed...(View More) to too much UV radiation. Includes background for facilitators. This activity is part of the "Explore!" series of activities designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments.(View Less)

In this lesson, students explore a discrepent event by designing experiments to test either what makes a "come-back can" return (a can that when you roll away from you, always returns) or UV beads change color. This activity should come either near...(View More) the beginning or end of a unit on stars and galaxies. This lesson is part of the Cosmic Times teachers guide and is intended to be used in conjunction with the 2006 Cosmic Times Poster.(View Less)

Students use a calorimeter made of common materials to demonstrate that energy can be measured and converted from one form to another. Hydrocarbons, such as paraffin, contain stored chemical energy; food contains stored chemical energy. The activity...(View More) uses a raw potato, a nut, a candle, an aluminum drink can, a thermometer, and a balance scale. A data sheet is included in the resource. The investigation supports material presented in chapter 1, "What is Energy?" in the textbook, Energy Flow, part of Global System Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact.(View Less)

This is an activity about ultraviolet light. Learners will make ultraviolet light detector bracelets and use them to experiment with artificial light and sunlight. Then, they experiment with various sun-blocking materials to see how such materials...(View More) impact the beads' absorption of ultraviolet light. Special UV detecting beads are required for this activity. This is Activity 3 of the Sun As a Star afterschool curriculum.(View Less)

This is an activity about how light travels. Learners will perform two experiments. The first explores blocking light to create shadows. The second asks learners to use mirrors to figure out that light travels in a straight line. This is Activity 4...(View More) of the Sun As a Star afterschool curriculum. This activity requires use of a room that can be darkened.(View Less)